DOCSLIB.ORG

Some Errors of H.G. Wells; a Catholic's Criticism of the "Outline of History"

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Some Errors of H.G. Wells; a Catholic's Criticism of the D ^/ Errors of H. G. Wells </? Catholics Criticism of the " " Outline of History By RICHARD DOWNEY, D.D, t t t t t t 4. Borne Errors of H. G. Wells Some Errors of H. G. Wells atholics Criticism of the " " Outline of History By RICHARD DOWNEY, D.D. t t t f t t t t t t t t t t t ^, Cincinnati, Chicago BENZIGER BROTHERS Printers to the Publishers of Holy Apostolic See Benziger's Magazine 1921 To the Reader booklet is a revised reprint of three THISarticles which appeared in The Month for August, September, and October, 1920. They are republished by kind permission of the editor of The Month, to whom the author is indebted for many helpful suggestions. The references throughout to The Outline of History are to the edition in two volumes published by George Newnes, Ltd. R. D. 461923 * Some Errors of H. G. Wells many months the fortnightly parts of FORMr. H. G. Wells's Outline of History have dazzled the eye and fired the imagination, and, at last, the twenty-fourth and concluding on its cover a coloured of "part, bearing map The United States of the World," has appeared, some few weeks after the publication of a revised edition of the complete work in one volume. The time is opportune, therefore, for a survey of this universal history. The present pamphlet is not meant to be an exhaustive critique, but rather an antidote to some of the chief errors into which it would seem that Mr. Wells has been betrayed by his prevailing bent of mind. For his literary craftsmanship, his art of presen- tation, his selective judgment, and his courage in attempting such a gigantic task, it is impossible not to have admiration, and on this account it is the more regrettable that he has allowed his preconceived philosophical and religious notions to enter so largely into what purports to be a record of fact. The result is that the outline with he which presents us is, in many places, badly " warped. The pre-human ancestor was an ape," says Mr. Wells in his errata to Parts L, II., III. He '. 4NTHROPOLOGT makes this statement with the confidence of a man who has established it beyond rebuttal. Nor is there any substantial modification of this opinion in the note on this point which he prints " in his final errata: There is too much stress upon the lemur in the account of the ancestry of man. The ancestor of man and the higher apes was probably a ground monkey and not a lemur." It is therefore worth while to examine r the evidence on w hich his statement rests, the more so as the examination throws an interesting sidelight on Mr. Wells's method of handling facts. Chief amongst the anthropological data upon which any judgment as to the simian origin of man must be based are the extant remains " of primeval man," and these are usually divided into three groups : (I.) Remains supposed to date from the late Pliocene or Pleistocene early epoch (c. 550,000 B.C.) the Pithecanthropus, Eoanthropus, Homo Heidelbergensis, and the Galley Hill man. (II.) Remains of the Homo Neanderthalensis, or Primigenius (c. 50,000 B.C.). (III.) Remains of the Homo sapiens^ or rectns (c. 35,000 B.C.) Aurignacian, Cro-Magnon, and Grimaldi types. Mr. Wells's task is to show how the Homo sapiens evolved from an ape. He devotes a xvhole chapter (VIII.) to the Pliocene man of Group I., without shedding the faintest ray of light on his origin. He discourses pleasantly 1 P. 762 THE ANCESTOR OF MAN of Pithecanthropus, and illustrates his remarks " " with a picture of the possible appearance of Pithecanthropus no mean achievement when we reflect that the entire remains consist of a thigh- bone, two molar teeth, and the top of a skull. What he does not tell his readers, however, is that the Pithecanthropus is the discredited har- " of the whole of missing links." binger family " Time was when popularizers of science," following the lead of Haeckel, insisted on the continuous, gradual development of man from the ape through this very Pithecanthropus. Thus, Professor Schwalbe in 1909 declared from his " chair in the University of Strassburg that what Darwin missed most of all intermediate forms between apes and man has been recently fur- nished. E. Dubois, as is well known, discovered in 1893, near Trinil in Java, in the alluvial deposits of the River Bengawan, an important form repre- sented by a skullcap, some molars, and a femur. 'His opinion much disputed as it has been that in this he form, which named Pithecanthropus , he has found a long-desired transition form is shared by the present writer. Volz says with justice that even if Pithecanthropus is not the 1 missing link, it is undoubtedly a missing link." Since that time, however, anthropologists have pointed out that it is not at all clear that the Java remains belong to the same skeleton, since, though found in the same strata, they were some con- siderable distance apart. Anatomists, too, have 1 Darwin and Modern Science, pp. 127, 128. NEANDERTHAL MAN " fallen foul of this intermediate form," many experts pronouncing the thigh-bone purely human and the teeth and skull purely simian. To add to the general confusion, the date of the remains is a very vexed question; and, finally, the whole status of the Pithecanthropus has been rudely shaken by the recent discovery of several supposed types of prehistoric man which differ essentially from the Pithecanthropus notably the Piltdown man, at present in course of reconstruction from the remains found in Sussex as recently as " 1912. As a missing link," therefore, the Pithecanthro- pus is pretty generally abandoned; but Mr. Wells, though he has not succeeded in finding, another to take its place, holds fast to his faith in the kinship of men and monkeys. In the next chapter he addresses himself to a consideration of the primitive men represented II. To these we are somewhat by Group " abruptly introduced as follows : In the earlier phase, the third Interglacial period, a certain number of small family groups of men (Homo Neanderthalensis), and probably of sub-men (Eoanthropus), wandered over the land, leaving nothing but their flint " ] implements to witness to their presence. Cer- tainly in 1857 the top of a skull and a few bones were found in the Neanderthal near Dusseldorf. The abnormal shape of the skull led many to suppose that it represented a hitherto unknown type of man, and this Surmise gained support by the subsequent finds of skulls and skeletal parts, 1 P. 47- EXIT THE APE-ANCESTRT THEORY 5 notably in Belgium in 1884, and in Croatia in 1899. These are the facts on which Mr. Wells exercises his brilliant imagination. But what we really want to know is, where did this Homo Neanderthalensis come from ? The average reader of Mr. Wells's serial gathers the impression that this second type in some mysterious " " way evolved out of the first, and certainly Mr. Wells says nothing to undeceive him. Yet the gulf between these two groups has never been bridged. Thus Mr. E. O. James, in his recent " Introduction to Anthropology (1919), says: In our opinion Pithecanthropus does not represent either a precursor or an early phase of Neanderthal a . man, but development on lines of its own. There is good reason to believe that the Neander- thal type does not represent a development of " } Pithecanthropus And even if it did, it would not help Mr. Wells in the least, since he admits that after lasting out for more than 200,000 " " years the Neanderthaler race became extinct: " Finally ... a different human type came upon the scene, and, it would seem, exterminated Homo Neanderthalensis ."* So, in any case, exit the man who was descended from an ape. Mr. Wells does not seem to have heard of the modern difficulties against his ape-ancestry" theory. In the course of an article on The Evolution of Man and his Mind," in Science Progress for July, 1920, Major Thomas Cherry contends that " " " back teeth are not evidence of our simian 1 2 P. 12. p. 52. "HOMO SAPIENS' but the ancestry, on contrary, quite the opposite" ;* " that Man's skin is not a monkey's skin minus the hair. It is far better supplied with sweat glands, and man can thus survive a degree of exposure to the sun which is speedily fatal to a monkey. Man's naked skin is a conspicuous contrast to 2 the condition of all the other primates "; and sad blow to Mr. Wells, with his diagrammatic " " " picture of foot of man and gorilla the specialized monkey foot may [thus] be ruled out 3 as a stage in the ancestry of man." All this chatter of Mr. Wells about arboreal apes and his highly imaginative descriptions of Pliocene and Neanderthal man are somewhat beside the " point, since no stage in the ancestry of man may have been very like either one or other of these 4 extinct races." We are relieved, therefore, when Mr. Wells turns his attention, and ours, to the new human type, indicated by the third group of remains, the Homo sapiens, or recens. We are consumed with eagerness to know something of the antecedents of this race; we are thrilled to think that in this chapter Mr. Wells is at last about to solve the knotty problem of our simian ancestry. But all the knowledge that Mr. Wells imparts on this vital question is compressed into one single " period : At present we can only guess where and how, through the slow ages, parallel with the Neanderthal cousin, these first true men arose out of some more ape-like progenitor."' So,/ 1 P.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Moral Progress in the Light of History
    MORAL PROGRESS IN THE LIGHT OF HISTORY. BY VICTOR S. YARROS. MLXri has been written lately about the imperative need of doing something in order that civilization may be saved or "salvaged." Humanity, we have been solemnly assured, is doomed, and our culture may perish, unless we accept this or that remedy for our social, economic and moral ills. It is scarely necessary to remind the reader of serious scientific literature dealing with social problems that the learned doctors dis- agree, as they have always disagreed in the past, concerning the nature and elements of the remedy required by the patient, civilized mankind. The patient would be deeply perplexed indeed were he, or it, to endeavor to follow the insistent advice of the physicians. How- ever, the latter do agree that humanity is sick unto death. They shake their grave heads pessimistically. They are most anxious and depressed. This mood of theirs does them credit, morally and emotionally speaking. They have the noblest of intentions. But are they justi- fied in their pessimism? Is the patient as sick as they believe he is? It is clear that an answer to these queries cannot be evolved out of one's inner consciousness. Freud and the subconscious cannot help us, either, to a sound, satisfactory answer. To find such an answer zve must go to history, to tJic human record. Has humanity been in better health than now? If so, when, and when did it con- tract its present dangerous malady? What has happened to it? Let us interrogate some one who has made an earnest and special study of our patient and knows the history of the case.
    [Show full text]
  • Ancient Rome on Wilson Barrett's
    “A LIVING HISTORY”: ANCIENT ROME ON WILSON BARRETT’S STAGE by Shoshana Hereld A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES (Theatre) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) August 2017 © Shoshana Hereld, 2017 Abstract The toga dramas of late nineteenth-century British actor-manager Wilson Barrett provide important evidence on the relationship between the Classics and Victorian theater. In his depictions of ancient Rome, Barrett married the popularity of melodrama with the passion for classical antiquity, reflecting changes in the Victorian social world at the end of the nineteenth century: the increasing prominence of melodrama and the blurring of artistic genres; the increasing accessibility of classical knowledge; and obsessions with historicity. Drawing on scripts, contemporary reviews, and photographs, I investigate the ways in which Barrett’s work navigates the existing social scene in both theater and society at large. By exploring the splendor of Victorian melodrama, the British tastes for the Classics, and the relationship between authenticity and theatricality, this thesis uses Wilson Barrett’s work to demonstrate important features of both Victorian theater and society at large at the end of the nineteenth century. ii Lay Summary The toga dramas of late nineteenth-century British actor-manager Wilson Barrett provide important evidence on the relationship between the Classics and Victorian theater. Barrett is relatively unstudied, as compared to his contemporaries, such as Sir Henry Irving. Barrett’s depictions of ancient Rome, however, reflect both Victorian attitudes towards classical history and changes in British social structure.
    [Show full text]
  • The Ecumenical Movement and the Origins of the League Of
    IN SEARCH OF A GLOBAL, GODLY ORDER: THE ECUMENICAL MOVEMENT AND THE ORIGINS OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS, 1908-1918 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Notre Dame in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy by James M. Donahue __________________________ Mark A. Noll, Director Graduate Program in History Notre Dame, Indiana April 2015 © Copyright 2015 James M. Donahue IN SEARCH OF A GLOBAL, GODLY ORDER: THE ECUMENICAL MOVEMENT AND THE ORIGINS OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS, 1908-1918 Abstract by James M. Donahue This dissertation traces the origins of the League of Nations movement during the First World War to a coalescent international network of ecumenical figures and Protestant politicians. Its primary focus rests on the World Alliance for International Friendship Through the Churches, an organization that drew Protestant social activists and ecumenical leaders from Europe and North America. The World Alliance officially began on August 1, 1914 in southern Germany to the sounds of the first shots of the war. Within the next three months, World Alliance members began League of Nations societies in Holland, Switzerland, Germany, Great Britain and the United States. The World Alliance then enlisted other Christian institutions in its campaign, such as the International Missionary Council, the Y.M.C.A., the Y.W.C.A., the Blue Cross and the Student Volunteer Movement. Key figures include John Mott, Charles Macfarland, Adolf Deissmann, W. H. Dickinson, James Allen Baker, Nathan Söderblom, Andrew James M. Donahue Carnegie, Wilfred Monod, Prince Max von Baden and Lord Robert Cecil.
    [Show full text]
  • Sabiha Gökçen's 80-Year-Old Secret‖: Kemalist Nation
    UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO ―Sabiha Gökçen‘s 80-Year-Old Secret‖: Kemalist Nation Formation and the Ottoman Armenians A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Communication by Fatma Ulgen Committee in charge: Professor Robert Horwitz, Chair Professor Ivan Evans Professor Gary Fields Professor Daniel Hallin Professor Hasan Kayalı Copyright Fatma Ulgen, 2010 All rights reserved. The dissertation of Fatma Ulgen is approved, and it is acceptable in quality and form for publication on microfilm and electronically: _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ Chair University of California, San Diego 2010 iii DEDICATION For my mother and father, without whom there would be no life, no love, no light, and for Hrant Dink (15 September 1954 - 19 January 2007 iv EPIGRAPH ―In the summertime, we would go on the roof…Sit there and look at the stars…You could reach the stars there…Over here, you can‘t.‖ Haydanus Peterson, a survivor of the Armenian Genocide, reminiscing about the old country [Moush, Turkey] in Fresno, California 72 years later. Courtesy of the Zoryan Institute Oral History Archive v TABLE OF CONTENTS Signature Page……………………………………………………………....
    [Show full text]
  • The New Global History Toward a Narrative for Pangaea Two
    EWE (previously EuS) 14(2003)1 Main Article / Hauptartikel 75 The New Global History Toward a Narrative for Pangaea Two Wolf Schäfer Summary: The author approaches contemporary history from a position that defines the expression “truly global” as earth-centered. On this ground, two kinds of global history can be distinguished: the non-linear geophysical history of first nature, which is alternately uniting and dividing the world-continent (called Pangaea One), and the revolutionary technoscientific history of second nature, which is beginning to defragment the earth with things like the World Wide Web. The new Global History explores contemporary global history in general and the emerging civilizational unity (called Pangaea Two) in particular. The new historiographical approach is introduced via a critical discussion of Globality, Globalization, Periodization, World History, and Methodology. Zusammenfassung: Der Autor nähert sich der Gegenwartsgeschichte von einer Position, die den Ausdruck “wahrhaft global” als erdzentriert definiert. Auf dieser Basis können zwei Arten von Globalgeschichte unterschieden werden: die nicht-lineare geophysikalische Geschichte der ersten Natur, die den Weltkontinent abwechselnd zusammenfügt und fragmentiert (Pangaea Eins genannt), und die revolutionäre technowissenschaftliche Geschichte der zweiten Natur, die angefangen hat die Erde mit Dingen wie dem World Wide Web zu defragmentieren. Die neue Globalgeschichte erforscht die globale Gegenwartsgeschichte im allgemeinen und die sich anbahnende zivilisatorische Einheit (Pangaea Zwei genannt) im besonderen. Der neue historiographische Ansatz wird anhand einer kritischen Diskussion von Globalität, Globalisierung, Periodisierung, Weltgeschichte und Methodologie vorgestellt. Overview ((3)) In this article, I shall be following an alternative tack to- ward global history. I think that the designation “new global history” is warranted by the novelty of a human-made global ((1)) Titles of the form “The New –” invite the tested response: history.
    [Show full text]
  • Economics, Politics and Philosophy
    ECONOMICS, POLITICS AND PHILOSOPHY Peter Harrington london We are exhibiting at these fairs 4–7 October 2018 frieze masters Regent’s Park, London frieze.com/fairs/frieze-masters 14–15 October seattle Seattle Antiquarian Book Fair Seattle Center Exhibition Hall Seattle, WA www.seattlebookfair.com 3–4 November chelsea Chelsea Old Town Hall Kings Road, London www.chelseabookfair.com 16–18 November boston Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair Hynes Convention Center Boston, MA bostonbookfair.com 30 November–2 December hong kong China in Print Hong Kong Maritime Museum www.chinainprint.com VAT no. gb 701 5578 50 Peter Harrington Limited. Registered office: WSM Services Limited, Connect House, 133–137 Alexandra Road, Wimbledon, London SW19 7JY. Registered in England and Wales No: 3609982 Coin illustrations from Ordonnance et instrvction, item 59. Design: Nigel Bents; Photography: Ruth Segarra. Peter Harrington london catalogue 146 ECONOMICS, POLITICS AND PHILOSOPHY All items from this catalogue are on display at Dover Street Dover St opening hours: 10am–7pm Monday–Friday; 10am–6pm Saturday mayfair chelsea Peter Harrington Peter Harrington 43 dover street 100 FulHam road london w1s 4FF london sw3 6Hs uk 020 3763 3220 uk 020 7591 0220 eu 00 44 20 3763 3220 eu 00 44 20 7591 0220 usa 011 44 20 3763 3220 www.peterharrington.co.uk usa 011 44 20 7591 0220 well-known to many of the key figures of the German Romantic movement, who often met each other at her Berlin salon: regulars included Friedrich Gentz, Motte Fouqué, Schlegel, Schelling, and Steffens. She was introduced to Goethe in 1795.
    [Show full text]
  • 13 SISFA.Pdf
    Raffaele Pisano • Danilo Capecchi • Anna Lukešová Editors Physics, Astronomy and Engineering. Critical Problems in the History of Science and Society 32nd International Congress of the Italian Society of Historians of Physics and Astronomy Roma 2012, Italy UDK 53(06) Ph-09 Pisano R, Capecchi D, Lukešová A (eds) (2013). Physics, Astronomy and Engineering. Critical Problems in the History of Science and Society. Proceedings of the 32nd International Congress of the Italian Society of Historians of Physics and Astronomy. The Scientia Socialis Press, Šiauliai. ISBN: 978-609-95513-0-2 ISBN 978-609-95219-3-0 © Scientia Socialis, UAB, 2013 Contents Foreword Chris Bissell (United Kingdom) i Introduction Raffaele Pisano (France), Danilo Capecchi (Italy) Anna Lukešová (Czech Republic) Editors xi Plenary Speakers An Outline of History of Mechanism Design in Servicing Science Marco Ceccarelli (Italy) 1 The Role Played by Mathematics during the Revolutionary and Imperial Paris up to the Restoration in the Education of Engineers with Lazare Carnot as a Witness Jean G. Dhombres (France) 11 Some Methodological Remarks on the Replication Method Peter Heering (Germany) 25 The Earth Floats Unsupported in Space Radim Kočandrle (Czech Republic) 39 Physics and Mathematics without Coordinates Walter Noll (United States of America) 53 Pisano R, Capecchi D, Lukešová A (eds) (2013). Physics, Astronomy and Engineering. Critical Problems in the History of Science and Society. Proceedings of the 32nd International Congress of the Italian Society of Historians of Physics
    [Show full text]
  • Abstract Deconstructing Glimpses of World History
    ABSTRACT DECONSTRUCTING GLIMPSES OF WORLD HISTORY: AN ANALYSIS OF JAWAHARLAL NEHRU'S LETTERS TO HIS DAUGHTER by Michele L Langford This paper deconstructs Jawaharlal Nehru's extensive account of world history in the form of letters to his daughter, Indira. First published in 1934, Glimpses of World History remains an important resource in understanding the formative years of Nehru's perspective of world history and world politics. An analysis of Nehru's text contributes to growing field of scholarship concerned with the uses and approaches to world history. In addition, an analysis of influences on Nehru's construction of world history questions the traditional view that only British perspectives informed Nehru's ideas about the world. In conclusion, this paper suggests that Nehru's world history served as the premise to his key foreign policy initiative, nonalignment, once Nehru became prime minister of India in 1947. DECONSTRUCTING GLIMPSES OF WORLD HISTORY: AN ANALYSIS OF JAWAHARLAL NEHRU'S LETTERS TO HIS DAUGHTER A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Miami University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Department of History by Michele L. Langford Miami University Oxford, OH 2005 Advisor_______________________________________________ Dr. Judith P. Zinsser Reader________________________________________________ Dr. David Fahey Reader________________________________________________ Dr. Arpana Sircar I. Introduction A close reading of Jawaharlal Nehru's Glimpses of World History reveals the complexities of constructing and using world history. Written while in prison for nonviolent protests against the British Raj between the years 1930 and 1934, Nehru's historical narrative retold his version of world history in the form of short letters to his daughter, Indira.
    [Show full text]
  • When China Rules the World
    When China Rules the World 803P_pre.indd i 5/5/09 16:50:52 803P_pre.indd ii 5/5/09 16:50:52 martin jacques When China Rules the World The Rise of the Middle Kingdom and the End of the Western World ALLEN LANE an imprint of penguin books 803P_pre.indd iii 5/5/09 16:50:52 ALLEN LANE Published by the Penguin Group Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London wc2r orl, England Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario, Canada m4p 2y3 (a division of Pearson Canada Inc.) Penguin Ireland, 25 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd) Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd, 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi – 110 017, India Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, North Shore 0632, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd) Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank 2196, South Africa Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offi ces: 80 Strand, London wc2r orl, England www.penguin.com First published 2009 1 Copyright © Martin Jacques, 2009 The moral right of the author has been asserted All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book Typeset in 10.5/14pt Sabon by Palimpsest Book Production Limited, Grangemouth, Stirlingshire Printed in England by XXX ISBN: 978–0–713–99254–0 www.greenpenguin.co.uk Penguin Books is committed to a sustainable future for our business, our readers and our planet.
    [Show full text]
  • In the Grip of Sacred History
    In the Grip of Sacred History The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters Citation Smail, Daniel. 2005. In the grip of sacred history. American Historical Review 110, no. 5: 1336-1361. Published Version http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/ahr.110.5.1337 Citable link http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:3207678 Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http:// nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of- use#LAA FRONTISPIECE: Noah's Ark under conslruclion in Edenia. From Athanasius Kircher, ,^rcfl NoS. Reproduced courtesy of Fordham University Library Special Collections. In the Grip of Sacred History DAN SMAIL ON THE OTHER SIDE OF EDEN lies a vast stretch of human history punctuated by com- pelling stories and events.' The ancestral Eve, the Out-of-Africa hypothesis, the Great Leap Forward, the settling of the Americas, the debates that rage around megafaunal extinction and the demise of the Neanderthals: all these and more have gripped the imaginations of academics and amateurs alike. If humanity is the proper subject of history, then surely the Paleolithic is part of our history. Yet despite enor- mous strides in the field of paleoanthropology over the last several decades, the deep past of humanity still plays a marginal role in the grand historical narrative that is taught in secondary schools and colleges in the United States.
    [Show full text]
  • 10764.Ch01.Pdf
    © 2008 UC Regents Buy this book The publisher gratefully acknowledges the generous contribution to this book provided by the Ahmanson Foundation Humanities Endowment Fund of the University of California Press Foundation. The publisher also gratefully acknowledges the support of the Harvard Historical Series. Cover illustration and frontispiece from Athanasius Kircher, Arca Noë, in tres libros digesta. Reproduced courtesy of the Houghton Library, Harvard University. A Caravan Book For more information, visit www.caravanbooks. org. University of California Press, one of the most distinguished university presses in the United States, enriches lives around the world by advancing scholarship in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Its activities are supported by the UC Press Foundation and by philanthropic contributions from individuals and institutions. For more information, visit www.ucpress.edu. University of California Press Berkeley and Los Angeles, California University of California Press, Ltd. London, England © 2008 by The Regents of the University of California Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Smail, Daniel Lord. On deep history and the brain / Daniel Lord Smail. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn: 978-0-520-25289-9 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. History—Philosophy. I. Title. D16.9.S62 2007 901—dc22 2007011729 Manufactured in the United States of America 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 10987654321 The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of ansi/niso z39.48–1992 (r 1997) (Permanence of Paper). CONTENTS Preface ix Introduction: Toward Reunion in History 1 1. The Grip of Sacred History 12 2. Resistance 40 3. Between Darwin and Lamarck 74 4.
    [Show full text]
  • What Is Big History?
    What is Big History? David Christian Distinguished Professor and Director of the Big History Institute Macquarie University As they err who study the maps of that includes the pasts studied by biologists, regions before they have learned paleontologists, geologists and cosmologists. By accurately the relation of the whole linking different perspectives and scales, and universe and the separate parts of it to many different scholarly disciplines, all of which each other and to the whole, so they are try to understand the deep roots of today’s world, not less mistaken who think they can big history can transform our understanding of understand particular histories before “history.” they have judged the order and sequence of universal history and of all times, set However, to fully capture the richness and range of forth as it were in a table.1 teaching, we will eventually need the perspectives Big history represents an attempt at what E.O. ofthis big vibrant historians new trainedfield of research,in many other scholarship disciplines. and Wilson has called “consilience,” a return to the I hope this essay may encourage such scholars to offer their distinctive perspectives on big history. of the fragmented visions that dominate modern educationgoal of a unified and scholarship. understanding2 Though of reality, it may in seemplace The evolution of historical scholarship in the new, the goal of consilience is very old. And twentieth century even in its modern forms, big history has been around for at least a quarter of a century. So the Historians will recognize that my title comes Journal of Big from a classic essay on history, studied by most History provides the ideal opportunity for a stock Anglophone history graduates.
    [Show full text]